Future Islands - The Far Field album review: trademark meloncholy and a throbbing backbeat

Few bands deserved a break more than this hardworking Baltimore trio. It finally came with their 2014 single Seasons (Waiting on You), a remarkable chunk of synth-addled passion in the form of a four-minute sub-pop song.

Sam Herring & co needed to deliver the goods with album No 5 and, for the most part, The Far Field triumphs despite the lack of any sense of musical advancement. Herring’s rich, unique vocals remain Future Island’s USP, injecting despair and melancholy into even something as infectious and throbbing as the dancefloor-ready Cave, while the tropical North Star is the closest thing to a hit here. Heck, Debbie Harry even turns up on the dancey Shadows.

It’s good stuff – very good, in fact, though just not defining. Then again, it doesn’t need to be.